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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 19th, 2024–Feb 20th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Glacier.

Incoming storm snow may have a difficult time bonding to the crusts and facets that currently live at the top of our snowpack.

Give respect to loose sluffs that may gather enough mass to bury a person in a terrain trap or carry them over cliffs.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

A few point-release dry sluffs were noted from steep terrain on Tupper and Macdonald yesterday. Otherwise no new activity in the highway corridor.

Two reported skier-triggered avalanches, one on Terminal Pk and the other in the Connaught drainage, were both slabs failing on the prominent crust down ~30-40cm. Each ran approximately 150 meters. Expect more of this with incoming snow loading up the firm crust.

Snowpack Summary

Strong N'ly winds last week redistributed the 20-40cms of low density surface snow.

A buried crust (widespread below 2500m) is ~20-40cm down, with a variety of layers overlying it (low density pow in protected lees, soft to hard slabs where wind has hit the slope).

The mid-lower snowpack has strengthened. Isolated pockets of shallow, weak/faceted snow can be found in the high alpine.

Watch for firm crusts, frozen debris, and shallow snowpack hazards below Tree-line.

Weather Summary

A weak disturbance this week will bring clouds, light snow, and freezing levels rising to 1500m with daytime warming, dropping to valley bottom at night.

Tonight: Cloudy/flurries, Alp low -5°C, light ridgetop winds.

Tues: Flurries, 5-10cm, Alp high -4°C, light/gusting mod SW wind.

Wed: Cloudy/isolated flurries, Alp high -5°C, light/mod SW winds.

Thurs: Cloudy/isolated flurries, Alp high -5°C, light W winds.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.